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50 Years Of Silence

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50 Years Of Silence
Directed byNed Lander with Carol Ruff and James Bradley
Written byCarol Sklan
Jan Ruff-O'Herne
Produced byCarol Ruff
Ned Lander
CinematographyJohn Whitteron
Joel Peterson
Edited byJames Bradley
Release date
  • 1994 (1994)
Running time
57 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

50 Years Of Silence is a 1994 documentary film that tells the story of Japanese war rape victim Jan Ruff-O'Herne.[1]

Reception

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In the Sunday Telegraph Sean Day-Lewis says Ruff-O'Herne "courageously and poignantly tells of her months providing as little comfort as she could after being forced to serve in a Japanese army brothel.."[2] Martin Massingberd wrote in the Daily Telegraph that is "was an inspiring film about a remarkable woman, whose undimmed warmth and sympath shone through her appalling ordeal as a triumph of the human spirit."[3] Michael Hutak of the Sydney Morning Herald writes "This film stands as a lasting testimony of those atrocities and a plea for victims to break the cycle of guilt and speak out."[4] Robin Oliver, also of the Sydney Morning Herald, states "The shattering contents of this documentary overwhelm the viewer and it is difficult to look beyond the story of Jan Ruff-O'Herne and consider the film itself, which is often disjointed and poorly edited."[5]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ Greenwood, Helen (14 July 1996), "Horror of war rape exposed", The Sydney Morning Herald
  2. ^ Day-Lewis, Sean (30 July 1995), "Witness: Fifty Years Of Silence", The Sunday Telegraph
  3. ^ Massingberd, Martin (2 August 1995), "Lessons in history from flickering footage", The Daily Telegraph
  4. ^ Hutak, Michael (15 July 1996), "An end to barbarism", The Sydney Morning Herald
  5. ^ Oliver, Robin (26 September 1994), "Forgotten victims", The Sydney Morning Herald
  6. ^ French, Lisa; Poole, Mark (2009). Shining a Light: 50 Years of the Australian Film Institute. Australian Teachers of Media. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-876467-20-3.